What needs to be done for a basement floor that cracked open due to water pressure?

What needs to be done for a basement floor that cracked open due to water pressure from all the rain? The rain that has caused a multitude of problems for homeowners everywhere has caused us a problem with our basement. The basement floor craked open and has water gushing from beneath the concrete. What needs to be done and at what costs?

Barbara B. ~ Billerica, Massachusetts

This is a serious problem. With water pressure of that magnitude pushing up against you basement floor I do not think that there is a patch option that is going to hold long term. The key here is to reduce or eliminate all of the water pressure under your floor. This can be done with a layer of drain rock and a series of perforated drainpipes that can pick up and carry any water away from under the basement floor. This would mean extensive concrete removal, excavation and re-pouring a concrete basement floor. It may be worth seeing if this is the kind of damage that your insurance would cover under flood damage. In any case, I would call a licensed contractor that specializes in water mitigation in basements and get some pricing and options for the work that needs to be done.